Political Political GeographyGeography

Chapter 8Chapter 8

United Nations MembersUnited Nations Members

Fig. 8-1: The UN has increased from 51 members in 1945 to 191 in 2003.

• Political Geography-the study of political activity in a spatial context.

• Over 200 countries and territories in the world

• Great inequality of size, relative location, population, resources and potential

• Some are landlocked or have little coastline

• Some are surrounded by hostile nations

• In the last several decades-the collapse of empires has added to the number of independent states.

• Many newly independent nations have problems

Political CulturePolitical Culture• Some state systems separate church & state while

others are theocracies-governments led by religious leaders.

• Robert Sach coined the term human territoriality to describe the way political space is organized.

• Robert Ardrey compares human territoriality to the instinct of animals to control & defend territory.

• Land ownership-some societies have communal ownership while others emphasize individual ownership. (Africa-imperialism, Indians of N. America).

• Challenges to political territory provides a strong motivation for warfare.

Nation-StateNation-State• Earliest rulers “regnum” ruled over a

group of followers-not fixed territories.

• Medieval concept of the Nation-State began with the Roman Catholic Church-that created “dominium” rule over a defined territory.

• Merovingian Kings 5th-8th cent. Called themselves “Kings of the Franks”, later Capetian Dynasty 10th - 14th cent. Called themselves “Kings of France”.

• Rise of the modern nation-state saw the development of distinctive territory.

Rise of the Modern StateRise of the Modern State• European Model of the

state diffused from Ancient Greece & Rome.

• Middle Ages-fragmentation, on mainland, Dynastic rule & strong leaders led to greater national cohesion, Norman invasion ended the fragmentation of England.

• Muslim invasion repelled. New technology-horseshoe, stirrup, horse collar, wheel barrow & wind mill introduced.

Rise of the Modern StateRise of the Modern State• Renaissance-political

nationalism & economic nationalism in the form of mercantilism developed-concept of diplomacy developed in Italy.

• Mercantilism-states should acquire wealth through-colonization, plunder, protection of home industries & markets, a favorable balance of trade.

Rise of the Modern StateRise of the Modern State• Reformation-brought a

religious split Roman Catholic versus Protestant-led to a series of wars. Monarchies benefited from the Church’s loss of political power.

• Age of Absolutism-emerged with Louis XIV of France as a prime example. Monarchies became the focal point of national awareness-ended regionalism and aristocratic local control

Rise of the Modern StateRise of the Modern State• Powerful dynasties-

Habsburgs, Bourbons, Tudors & Stuarts struggled for power.

• Thirty Years’ War began as a religious struggle-but ended as state & dynastic struggle for control of Europe.

• Peace of Westphalia 1648 ended the war-created defined boundaries & guarantees of security-Modern Europe emerged.

The states we perceive as “natural” and “always existing” are relatively recent phenomena.

In 1648, Europe was divided into dozens of small territories.

Rise of the Modern StateRise of the Modern State• The French Revolution of

1789 was the first major political upheaval in Europe.

• It was followed by the Napoleonic Wars that spread the Enlightenment ideas of equality and the French concept of nationalism.

• 1830 and 1848 another wave of revolutions swept over Europe

StateStateState – a politically organized territory with a permanent

population, a defined territory, and a government. To be a state, an entity must be recognized as such by other states.

NationsNations• Nation – a culturally defined group of people with a

shared past and a common future who relate to a territory and have political goals.

• People construct nations to make sense of themselves.

• Nations are “imagined communities” -Benedict Anderson

• imagined = you will never meet all the people in your nation

• community = you see yourself as part of it

State and NationState and Nation• State from the Latin word

“status” or “standing”-a political entity-used interchangeably with country.

• Nation-an ethnic or cultural group with similar language, religion, customs and territory-historic connection.

• Berlin was a divided city between 2 states-West Germany and East Germany-but it was a nation split by divisions of the Cold War

Defining the Nation-StateDefining the Nation-State

• A Nation should have– A single language– A common history– A similar ethnic

background– Unity from a common

political system.

• Cultural homogeneity not as important as “national spirit” or emotional commitment to the state.

• A Nation-State has:– Clearly delineated

territory– Substantial population– Well-organized

government– Shared political and

cultural history– Emotional ties to

institutions or political systems or an ideology.

European European Boundary Boundary ChangesChanges

Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to 2003. Germany’s boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The StateThe State• A state provides services for

its citizens.• It demands taxes• It demands adherence to the

laws.• It demands military service• Periods of adversity can

increase a sense of nationalism-but can backfire

• A state is possible only if a national attitude or emotional attachment to the state develops.

Defining the Nation-StateDefining the Nation-State

• The Four Pillars of Nationalism;– A population that

considers itself a nation– A substantial and well-

defined territory– A well-developed

organization– A measure of economic,

political and military power.

European Colonialism & the European Colonialism & the Diffusion of the Nation-State ModelDiffusion of the Nation-State Model

• Colonialism -a physical action in which one state takes over control of another, taking over the government and ruling the territory as its own.

Two Waves of European Colonialism:

1500 - 1825

1825 - 1975

Dominant Colonial Influences, 1550-1950

This map shows the dominant influence, as some places were colonized by more than one power in this time period.

Geographic Characteristics of StatesGeographic Characteristics of States• States vary greatly in Size-some huge like Russia 6.6 m.

sq. miles, others large with 3 m. sq. miles like US, China, Brazil, Canada-some are microstates-Vatican, Monaco, Andorra, Grenada.

• Shape-some are compact while other are elongated or fragmented.

• Demography-some have huge populations like China’s 1.3 billion or tiny like Iceland with 250,000.

• Organization-monarchy, democratic, dictatorship, theocratic.

• Resources-natural and skilled population• Development-subsistence to tertiary• Power-both economic and military

Stateless NationsStateless Nations• Sovereignty-complete control

over a territory’s political & military affairs. Some nations do not have their own state-this can lead to conflict.

• Palestinians are the most well known example-a stateless nation in conflict with Israel over territory.

• Kurds-about 20 million people live in Kurdistan-which covers 6 states-since the 1991 Iraq War-Kurdish Security Zone has been virtually independent.

• Territoriality –Territoriality –“the attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships, by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area.”

– Robert Sack

• Sovereignty –Sovereignty –having the last say over a territory – legally.

• Territorial Integrity –Territorial Integrity –a government has the right to keep the borders and territory of a state in tact and free from attack.

TerritoryTerritory

• Territorial Morphology-shape, size & relative location of a state.

• Compact-distance from the geographic center does not vary greatly.

• Fragmented-consisting of 2 or more separate pieces divided by water or other territory.

• Elongated-long & thin states.

TerritoryTerritory• Prorupted-states that are

nearly compact, but have a narrow extension.

• Perforated-having another state lie within ones territory.

• Exclave-an outlier of a state located within another.

• Enclave-the counterpart of exclave-it lies within a country and is independent or ruled by another country.

India: The Tin Bigha CorridorIndia: The Tin Bigha Corridor

Fig. 8-7: The Tin Bigha corridor fragmented two sections of the country of Bangladesh. When it was leased to Bangladesh, a section of India was fragmented.

Landlocked CountriesLandlocked Countries• Landlocked states have a serious disadvantage in trade and

access to resources.• Africa has more landlocked states than any other continent.

Sahel is poorly linked to the coastal ports; Uganda linked by rail; Zimbabwe access via South African and Mozambique ports; Rwanda & Burundi the world’s most isolated states; Zambia & Malawi have poor connections.

• Asia-Mongolia & Nepal are landlocked with rough terrain, great distances and limited communication, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia & Georgia.

• South America-Bolivia and Paraguay-lost coastline in war• Europe-Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia,

Moldova, Belarus and Bosnia

Landlocked StatesLandlocked States

Fig. 8-6: Southern, central, and eastern Africa include states that are compact, elongated, prorupted, fragmented, and perforated.

African African StatesStates